The songwriter behind the famous poker song “The Gambler” passed away last week at age 73 after a sudden illness.
Don Schlitz wrote the song in 1976 at age 23. It was his first-ever recorded tune, made famous by country and western music legend Kenny Rogers.
Schlitz recorded a version himself, and Johnny Cash also added his bass-baritone voice to the song on his album, “Gone Girl,” which actually came out just before Rogers’ version in 1978.
It was Rogers’ version, though – released on an album of the same name as the song in 1978 – that ultimately resonated with listeners.
Schlitz Came Up With The Song While Walking Home From Work
“The Gambler” mixed the Old West and poker into a pop culture icon. It also cemented the phrase, “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em,” into the American lexicon.
Inspiration for the poker ode came while Schlitz was working at Vanderbilt University as a computer operator. The young songwriter didn’t have a car and was forced to walk a few miles home from work. One day, he came up with the entire song while walking home.
“I’m just making up this story song; I’m good at rhymes and meter, so I’m putting that into it. … When I made it back to my efficiency apartment, I sat down at my dad’s old Smith-Corona typewriter – I’m a pretty good typist – and wrote it start to finish … without a last verse,” he told the Library of Congress in 2018.
“When I was done, I knew it was too long and it didn’t have a love angle, and it wasn’t up-tempo, and it was a pretty linear melody.”
Despite those misgivings, “The Gambler” struck listeners and went on to have multi-decade success.
The songwriter’s death comes after Rogers’ passing in 2020 at age 81.
Rogers Poked Fun At The Song In A Geico Commercial
After its release, the song found immediate success and reached No. 1 on the US country charts and was also a crossover hit in the pop and adult contemporary genres. Beyond America, “The Gambler” charted well in Canada, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Schlitz’s song went on to inspire five western television movies in the 1980s and 1990s starring Rogers as “The Gambler.” In 1978, Rogers belted out the song during the World Series of Poker at Binion’s Horseshoe.
The singer and the song were also featured in a 2014 Geico insurance commercial, with the three-time Grammy winner annoying other players at a poker table by singing the hit.
“Schlitz was able to quit walking to his graveyard shift computer operator job and start driving to work as a professional songwriter, ” American Songwriter noted of the impact the song had on his life.
Other Hits Followed For Schlitz
The song earned Schlitz a Grammy. That success helped launch his career and more hits followed.
The songwriter often co-wrote songs with Paul Overstreet, including “Forever and Ever, Amen” and several others for Randy Travis. The pair also penned, “When You Say Nothing at All,” a 1992 No. 1 hit sung by Keith Whitley and later also recorded by Alison Krauss and Union Station.
Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Judds, Alabama, Sara Evans, Waylon Jennings, George Strait, Ronnie Milsap, Reba McEntire, the Bellamy Brothers, Tanya Tucker, Garth Brooks, Pam Tillis, Kathy Mattea, the Oak Ridge Boys, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band all recorded songs written by Schlitz.
Away from country music, Schlitz also penned music and lyrics for the 1999 Broadway musical “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” But it was his tale of a poker player that really resonated with card players around the world.
The Nashville Songwriters Association Hall of Fame inducted Schlitz in 1993. Then, the Songwriters Hall of Fame did the same in 2012, as did the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017, and the Grand Ole Opry in 2022.
The poker world has seen several deaths of figures that were important to the industry over the last few years. Poker theory pioneer David Sklansky died in March at age 78.
Poker legend and pioneer of the game Doyle Brunson passed away in 2023 at age 89. Former World Poker Tour commentator and fellow Poker Hall-of-Famer Mike Sexton succumbed to prostate cancer in 2020 at age 73.
